Money matters. Billy Bush is expected to receive a $10 million settlement upon exiting the Today show, according to reports. But his lawyer, Marshall Grossman, tells Us that a dollar amount has not yet been agreed upon.
“There are news reports that a $10 million settlement has been reached between Billy Bush and NBC,” Grossman tells Us in a statement. “That report is false. There is no $10 million agreement and that amount has not been discussed. Negotiations are ongoing between the parties.”
As of Saturday, October 15, Bush’s public and private Facebook pages were taken down.
Bush, 44, has come under fire for his involvement in a recently released 2005 tape in which he and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump make derogatory comments about women. As a result, the embattled morning host was suspended from his hosting duties, and as previously reported, he is now on his way out.
Grossman tells Us that despite the fallout, Bush was only doing his job when he egged Trump, 70, on as he bragged about forcing himself upon women and grabbing them by the genitals.
“If Billy had been passive or responded, ‘Shut the f–k up,’ to Trump, Billy would have been out of a job the next day,” Grossman said.
Bush has already been removed from Today show billboards, and as an insider previously told Us, his departure seems imminent.
“He’s definitely gone. A lot of people feel so bad for him. He’s a good guy. He made a mistake, but he’s a genuinely good guy,” the source told Us. “They don’t see any way he can go back on morning TV after this.”
Immediately following the release of the 2005 footage, Bush issued an apology for his words and actions. (At one point in the clip, Bush, then a host for Access Hollywood, encourages Days of Our Lives star Arianne Zucker to give Trump and himself a hug, just moments after Trump makes a comment about grabbing women “by the p–sy.”)
“Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he told Us in a statement on Friday, October 7, after the video was published by The Washington Post. “It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago — I was younger, less mature and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.”
Trump has also since apologized while repeatedly defending his words as “locker room” banter. During the second presidential debate on Sunday, October 9, Trump denied that he had ever sexually assaulted any women. This past week saw numerous women stepping forward with claims that the former Apprentice host had touched them inappropriately.
